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New Life Academy girls basketball: Eagles shake off rust, top Breck, Trinity

The New Life Academy girls basketball team found out that a week off can put a little rust on a club as it found itself in close games this past week.

The team was able to shake the rust, however, and bounce back to defeat Breck High School on Thursday and Trinity High School on Friday to give the Eagles two big late-season wins and a sense of confidence as tournament play looms.

On Thursday night the Eagles traveled to Minneapolis to take on Breck High School (3-14, 2-7 in Tri-Metro Conference) in a non-conference game.

New Life discovered early in the contest that a week away from competitive play can wreak havoc on a basketball team as they found themselves down by 10 points midway through the first half to the injury-riddled Mustangs.

Through adjustments made on the fly and at halftime by head coach Ruth Ann Pederson, the Eagles were able to cut the lead to one point at halftime.

Through the adjustments made on both ends of the court, New Life was able to control the paint and double the Mustangs rebound total. On defense, the Eagles were able to stop Breck from driving to the hoop, causing turnovers and more shots for the opponent.

The Eagles ended the game with a 10-point win, defeating Breck by a final score of 53-43.

Sophomore Valerie Hohol led the Eagles in points and rebounds with 15 and 10, respectively. Junior Emily Bolduan was right behind her with 14, and senior Sydney Steele had 10. Junior Molly Saum had eight points and nine rebounds.

On Friday, the Eagles played host against conference rival Trinity (11-8, 3-7) and found themselves in a tighter game than Pederson said she thought they would be in, winning by nine at halftime 24-15.

The Eagles were able to open it up in the second half, however, winning handily by a score of 61-25.

Eleven of New Life's 13 players scored during the game. Hohol led the way again with another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Saum scored eight and Bolduan, Steele and Natalie Hagar each scored six.

New Life traveled to current fourth place conference rival Southwest Christian (14-7, 6-4) on Tuesday after the paper went to press and hosts Bethany (1-17, 0-11) on Thursday night for Senior Night.

If the Eagles win both of its games, the team will have a record above .500 after starting the season 0-10.